PM Shehbaz, Iran president address joint conference in Islamabad
Why this matters: local context for readers following news across Pakistan and the region.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is currently addressing a joint press briefing with Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, who is on an official visit to Pakistan. The premier began his speech by reciting an Iranian couplet on the themes of friendship during difficult times. PM Shehbaz described Pezeshkian as a “visionary and sagacious leader of a great country, Iran”. “But you’re a man of many talents and qualities — you are calm, you are wise and you are patient,” he added. Recalling the Iranian president’s past treatment of patients in hospitals, PM Shehbaz congratulated him on “this very well-deserved conferment”. He termed today a “historic moment between Pakistan and Iran”. Recalling the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding signed last week between the United States and Iran, the premier said it was “a matter of great happiness that this war has come to an end, which could have engulfed the entire region and beyond”. The prime minister hailed the “sagacious” leadership of Pezeshkian and his colleagues, and highlighted Pakistan’s role as an “honest and sincere mediator” in the US-Iran peace process. PM Shehbaz said he and President Pezeshkian held “very productive discussions in a very cordial atmosphere”. “It was like a family reunion, and brothers were talking to each other with the fullest clarity and total commitment that we will do everything to strengthen our brotherly relations like never before,” he remarked. Referring to the US-Iran technical talks held in Switzerland, he said, “My dear brother, we pray to Allah Almighty that God-willing, this arrangement will usher in a new era of peace, stability and prosperity for this entire region.” The prime minister also appreciated the “wisdom and sagacity” of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei for guiding the Iranian nation through “these very difficult and challenging times”. “Throughout this crisis, the entire Iranian nation, our Iranian brothers and sisters, have demonstrated their unity with hono